Most colonies will get clean, cheap water by December 2017, promises AAP govt

The AAP government on Tuesday released a report on the DJB’s achievements. Delhi’s water minister Kapil Mishra said consumers had benefitted from various schemes, water supply had been increased and the network reinforced.

By December 2017 almost all neighbourhoods in Delhi will get water connections and clean and cheap potable water, water minister Kapil Mishra said on Monday.

New Delhi, India - Feb. 23, 2016: Residents with their empty containers crowd around a municipal tanker to fetch water in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday, February 23, 2016. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times)(Hindustan Times)

He said though 309 unauthorised colonies got new connections with revenue generated from ‘out-of-the-box schemes,’ he was aware that many areas still did not have access to water.

At present, around 83% of households in Delhi had access to piped water supply. “Many still run after tankers for water... Almost all of these colonies will have water by December 2017,” he said.

The AAP government on Tuesday released a report on the DJB’s achievements. Mishra said consumers had benefitted from various schemes, water supply had been increased and the network reinforced.

The report said the government was working on ways to ensure residents get “quality potable water” that they can drink straight of the tap without additional filtering.

Water contamination is a problem in Delhi. Recently residents of Swasthya Vihar had staged a protest against the yellow, cloudy and smelly water that reached their water tanks.

Mishra spoke how the government had fulfilled many of their election promises, including the one to provide 20,000 litres of water free of cost every month.

Other achievements highlighted included the opening of water treatment plants in Dwarka and Bawana, the plan to rejuvenate the Yamuna riverfront, and setting up of a low cost sewage treatment plant.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who released the report, said the government had saved the people of Delhi from the “tanker mafia” by ensuring easy access to clean and cheap water.

“Politically affluent people were running a ‘tanker mafia.’ It was a deliberate attempt to deny people water... In our two years, we helped Delhi out of that ditch...,” said Sisodia.

Read: Two years of AAP govt